For gravel ultra racing, bikepacking etc. I’m looking for ways to make the steeper off-road pinches a little less painful then they are currently.
My current set up:
A Factor LS with:
• Ultegra 11s Di2 Front Derailleur
• Quarq Dub Crankset
• Quarq DFour Dub AXS Spider Powermeter
• A GRX Di2 Rear Derailleur
• An 11-40 XTR Casette
For my daily riding without the extra race weight/baggage it’s perfect, but for longer sustained efforts the 11-40 and front chainring combo require me to put out well over 300w on the steep stuff to maintain a comfortable cadence.
How can I make this more manageable without changing my crankset and breaking the bank?
My thoughts are
• Try an 11-42 XT Casette (if needed adding something like a goat link) – I’ve seen that being implemented here (link)
• Or switching to a set of Absolute Black sub-compact 48/32 or 46/30 oval chainrings
I prefer round chainrings aesthetically but haven’t found any that would work with the 4 bolt pattern I need and the compatability with the crank.
Am I missing something? Inspiration would be greatly appreciated 🙏🏼. I don’t suppose I can just use standard GRX chainrings with that crank can I? I also have a GRX Di2 Front Derailleur on the way purely for tire clearance reasons. Would that help here too?
by thecoolkidsaredoinit
2 Comments
Smaller front chainring will do the job, a bigger rear cassette can also do the same but your current one looks like a decent size 🙂
I use 48-32 AB ovals with an 11-34 cassette with DA9100 groupset on my road bike and the shifting on the front is trash.
On my gravel bike I have 48-31 GRX front rings and a deore 11-42 on the back using the goat link, shifting at the front is much better, shifting at the back is okay but not as good as with the original 11-34.
Food for thought.